The high-scoring top seed, which often allows teammates to pile up points in bunches, limited No. 17 Stevenson to just eight fourth-quarter points and pulled out a 70-65 win in the second round of the PSAL Class A playoffs on Tuesday in The Bronx.

“I feel like we won the game with our defense,” Mott Haven coach Doug Porter said. “We really had to play defense and tonight we did.”

Givens put Mott Haven ahead late in the fourth quarter and later added two clutch free throws in the final seconds.

“When it counted, he made all the big plays,” Porter said. “He hit some big shots.”

Stevenson raced out to a 12-point lead and was ahead by five entering the final stanza before Mott Haven clamped down on the defensive end. Porter feels his team gets a bad rap for its defense. The Mavericks may not be a traditional half-court defensive team – they press and trap from start to finish – but the reason they score so many points is because of their play at that end.

“There is a method to our madness,” he said. “Defense, believe it or not, is what keys our offense.”

That doesn’t mean Porter felt this was Mott Haven’s best effort. Point guard Robert Lloyd was held to eight points because of foul trouble. Grant, the John F. Kennedy transfer, struggled. The Mavericks hit just a single 3-pointer.

“When you play poorly and still win, that’s a good win,” Porter said. “We couldn’t have played any worse. But you have to win some tough games along the way. We really gutted it out in the end. I was really proud of my guys.”